Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.05.2015, Blaðsíða 1

LÖGBERG
HEIMSKRINGLA
The Icelandic Community Newspaper • 1 May 2015 • Number 09 / Númer 09 • 1. Maí 2015
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014 ISSN: 0047-4967
VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LH-INC.CA
This unkempt garden provided
sunlight, shade and song and
became my hideaway for the
next few years / page 8
When
knowledge
came with a
knock
As a boy, I remember well the
arrival of the encyclopedia
salesman to our door / page 6
The Winnipeg Wind
Ensemble premieres Kenley
Kristofferson’s composition in
Gimli and Winnipeg / page 2
Icelandic Folk
Song Suite
My hideaway
INSIDE
PHOTO: MIKE LATSCHISLAW
PHOTO COURTESY OF GLENN SIGURDSON
July 31, 2015
Links at the Lake Golf Course
Gimli, MB
In Support of Lögberg-Heimskringla
Taking early bird registrations!
Watch for Details
Cully Wilson named to the Hockey Hall of Fame
At a press conference on April 13, the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame announced the 2015 nominees for induction into the Hall of Fame. These nominees join an esteemed
group of Manitobans in the Hall of Fame who represent excellence
in hockey as players, builders, officials, media, and teams.
For the Icelandic community in North America, the foremost
name on the list of nominees was Cully Wilson, who played
in the Icelandic league in Winnipeg before his speed and style
got him noticed by the National Hockey Association in 1912.
Cully played across North America as the professional game
was developed. He was a founding member of the Chicago
Blackhawks in 1926.
Family members Wes Wilson and Elma (Wilson) Kozub were
on hand to represent Cully and his extended family at the press
conference, which was held at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame
in Winnipeg. (Wes and Elma’s comprehensive story about their
great-uncle, “Discovering Carol ‘Cully’ Wilson, an Icelandic
hockey player,” which appeared in Lögberg-Heimskringla
on March 25, 2005, is available as an online story at the L-H
website.)
Cully Wilson was born in Winnipeg on June 5, 1892, the
son of Sigurdur Erlendson and Metonia Indridsdottir, who had
immigrated to Canada from Iceland. According to Wes and Elma,
“Icelanders experienced problems fitting in because of language
and customs. Sigurdur understood this early on and decided to
change his surname. Adopting an English-sounding name like
Wilson was more likely to offer advantages in a job market not
always friendly to immigrants. Their children, five sons and three
daughters, all grew up adopting the Wilson name.”
Growing up in the West End of Winnipeg, Cully developed
an interest in hockey and, in 1909, he began playing hockey with
the Vikings, one of the city’s two noteworthy Icelandic teams.
The following year, he switched to the other team, the Falcons,
and then found himself playing for the Kenora Thistles and then
the Winnipeg Monarchs, which was the city’s elite team at the
time. He was obviously much in demand. Cully returned to the
Falcons in 1911 and the following year turned pro when he signed
with the Toronto Blueshirts. He was a hard-playing member of
the Blueshirts when they won the Stanley Cup in 1914.
In 1915, Cully joined the Seattle Metropolitans as its right
wing and the team went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1917. After
four years with the Metropolitans, he returned east, where he
played for Toronto, Montreal, and Hamilton before joining the
Calgary Tigers, a regional team, in 1924. After three seasons, he
joined the Chicago Black Hawks in the team’s inaugural season.
The following year, he was traded to the St. Paul Saints, where
he spent three years, including two as both player and head
coach. After the Saints, he played for San Francisco, Duluth, and
Kansas, before hanging up his skates at the age of 40.
Cully Wilson retired to Seattle and worked for Northwest
Steamship Lines, where he had earlier been employed during
the off-seasons. Wes and Elma report that, following his hockey
career, “Cully took great pride in his home and yard, and over the
years he became a skilled amateur horticulturist.
... continued on page 5
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WES WILSON / L-H ISSUE 6 FRIDAY 25 MARCH 2005
Cully (back row, far right) started playing for the
Winnipeg Vikings in 1909 at the age of 17